Posts Tagged ‘champagne’
Top spots to pop a cork in France
BordeauxBurgundy has developed a reputation of wine during the reign of Charlemagne, when the monks began making wine here. The winemakers of Burgundy in general, only a small vineyard and produce small quantities of wine. Bordeaux red wines produced from grapes Pinot Black, the best wines from 10 to 20 years age. The white wine is derived from Chardonnay grapes. The five main wine regions are Chablis, Cte d’Or, Cote Chalonnaise, Macon and Beaujolais, which only produces 13 different types of light red wine made from Gamay.BordeauxBritish have a penchant for full-bodied wines of Bordeaux known as Clarets in the UK since the mid 12th century when King Henry II in the area controlled by the marriage, tried to draw the local people to get their tax-free trading status with England. Thus began a roaring business in the wine-exporting countries to date.ChampagneChampagne, northeast of Paris, is the center of what is arguably the most famous wines of France since the 17th century when the monk Dom Pierre Perignon an innovative technique for making sparkling wine.Champagne is made from red pinot noir, pinot meunier grapes, black or white Chardonnay. Each vine is trimmed and trained vigorously for a small amount of high-quality grapes to produce. Indeed, exclusivity (and price) to maintain the designated areas where grapes for champagne may be grown and the quantity of wine produced each year is limited. In 2008, the boundaries that restrict the label of Champagne were extended to 40 other villages, including increasing the value of their vineyards and produce tens of millions of euros.The Loire ValleyThe vineyards of the Loire, rank 700 square kilometers and the third region in France for the production of quality wines. Although sunny, the climate is wet and not all varieties thrive. Yet the Loire produces the greatest variety of wines from all regions of the country (a specialty of the region is pink).The most common are the Muscadet grape varieties Cabernet franc and Chenin Blanc. Wines tend to be light and delicate. The areas most famous Pouilly-Fum, Vouvray, Sancerre, Bourgueil, Chinon and Saumur.LanguedocThis is the region’s most productive wine country, with up to 40% of wine in France – especially cheap red wine – produced here. About 2,500 square kilometers of the region is “under the vine,” which is a little over a third of all France.